On 43rd anniversary of dictator's death, cultural organization's jailed head accuses Spain of wanting "democracy to rot in prison"

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20 November 2018 05:13 PM

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ACN | Barcelona

"Franco is dead but not Francoism." This is the warning on the front cover of a publication produced by the Òmnium Cultural association on the 43rd anniversary of the Spanish dictator's death.

The social organization that advocates Catalan self-determination handed out some 100,000 copies of the newspaper on Tuesday morning, at the entrances of a number of metro stops in Barcelona.

The publication includes an article written by the association's president, Jordi Cuixart, who is currently in the Lledoners prison charged with rebellion and awaiting trial for his part in last year's independence bid.

In his article, Cuixart claims democracy is on trial with the "criminal persecution of political dissidence" by the Spanish authorities, and in a letter to Òmnium members, he added that "the State is pursuing the same aim as Francoism: for democracy to rot in prison."

The Òmnium newspaper also claims that "Francoism never retires," in reference to the 181 members of the Spanish military who signed a manifesto supporting Franco, and who believe there is a campaign afoot to denigrate the figure of the dictator.

Franco's legacy has been a hot topic in recent weeks after a motion to exhume his remains from his mausoleum in the Valley of the Fallen -a monument to those who died during the Civil War- was passed by the Spanish parliament.

On Tuesday, around 150 Franco supporters went to the dictator's grave to lay flowers and commemorate the anniversary of his death.

In fact, the Òmnium publication includes an analysis of Spain's far right and Spanish nationalism, as well as reproducing a notorious photograph by Manel Armengol showing Spanish police repressing demonstrators in Catalonia in 1976.